And the new Executive Director for BRAC is....

Okay, okay, I was going to reserve the person's name for the last sentence of this story. But that just seemed cruel. Even for me. So who is it? Who will continue to carry the BRAC torch? Who will rally, motivate and inspire? The new 2014 BRAC Executive Director is Aaron Bouplon (aka "Boups")
Now for everything else.

Back in early September, I got a phone call from Chris McGee. He called to tell me that he would be stepping down from his position as Executive Director of the BRAC at the end of the season. My first reaction? I was...sad. (I mean, I verbally berated him, of course. What would any good friendship be without some heckling?) But mostly I was sad.

It's safe to say that in any community, people don't realize how much they truly lean on those who hold the leadership positions. Bike racing is no different. Chris McGee got me involved in the racing community. He connected me to a great group of people and even inspired me to direct the first BRAC women's camps. He truly cared about his job and the cycling community as a whole here in Colorado.
"What?!?!? You CAN'T leave! The cross camp is tomorroooooowwww," I whined. Chris assured me that it would be fine. He'd put in three solid years (the same as his predecessor) and was ready to move on. He's got something lined up that's a great fit for him and his family. But I was still a touch wary about this imagined new person. Who would it be?

The BRAC began the search. The battle horn was sounded and it was indeed answered. This morning got a chance to talk to Peter Ismert, (BRAC Secretary and chair of the hiring committee). I wanted the entire process. Out of thirty-one applicants (mostly Colorado based, but also some from several neighboring states), the BRAC hiring committee narrowed it down to six candidates to interview by phone. From these six, the hiring committee selected three for the final in-person interviews.

The entire board was present for these interviews last week as well as making the final decision. It went through a voting process and much, much discussion. Peter likened this part to jury duty. They locked themselves into the conference room at the Golden Visitor's Center and no one could eat or use the restroom until a decision was made. Okay, maybe it wasn't that extreme, but as Peter said, it wasn't an easy decision.
"All six candidates towards the end of the process would have done an excellent job. That final choice was really tough to make. Especially among the final three. But in the end it came down to who could meet both the immediate and the long-term needs of BRAC."
-Peter Ismert

Many of you already know and love Aaron Bouplon. We'd like to give a warm welcome Boups and ask you to do the same. In other words, keep all of your freakish complaints to yourself until at least February. 303Cycling wants to thank the BRAC hiring committee, the board and all who were involved with this process. And finally, we'd like to congratulate Chris McGee on a successful three-year ride. Thanks for all you've done.

303cycling LLC is dedicated to Colorado cycling news in the Boulder and Denver area. We cover Denver bike racing, Boulder bike Racing, Colorado cyclocross, Colorado mountain biking, Denver bike commuting and other cycling news. In addition, we also host Colorado's cycling calendar which covers all cycling events from racing to bike touring and even to community events like Bike to work day. And don't forget about the recently added Colorado Road Racing Forum along with the Boulder Velodrome page If you have any news you would like to post on 303cycilng please Post It. Thank you for reading!